The Last Adventure
by Someone aka Me
Summary: Story after they save the world. New villan, new minions, new problems. COMPLETE! Please read and review! Miggy. Written Post-TFW, Pre-everything after that.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I know some people like romance and some don't so I made this a story for both. I will keep the romance and adventure in separate chapters so the people like me who don't like romance can skip it. If you don't like romance you can skip this chapter. I will put a short summary of it at the beginning of the next chapter. If you do like romance, read on. By the way, this takes place after they save the world from Itex and company.

Disclaimer: Really, if I own Maximum Ride would I be posting this?

Iggy's Point of View

I was on watch when Max came up and sat next to me. I had noticed that she had been acting strange around Fang lately and tonight she looked troubled.

"Is something up with you and Fang?" I asked

"That obvious, Huh?" she replied.

"Kind of."

"I don't know. Things have been kind of awkward between us since he kissed me." She confessed. I was amazed she told me anything, not to mention something that personal. It must have really been bothering her.

"He kissed you?" I said aloud, then muttered "lucky dog" under my breath.

"Yeah" she said, and then asked "Did you just say what it sounded like you just said?"

"That depends" I answered carefully, not sure how to proceed.

"On what?"

"On what it sounded like I said" I said with my usual joking attitude. Then, more seriously, I continued,"And on how you'd feel about it."

Max replied just as seriously and at a softer volume than I've ever heard her use. "It sounded like you said 'lucky dog'. If that is what you said then I'd be amazed but delighted at the same time."

"Really?" I asked incredulously.

"Really" she said. She was smiling now. I think she could tell by my tone that that was what I had said and that I had meant it too.

"Why me?" I asked.

"Why not?" she replied frankly.

"You know why not, Max. I'm blind. Fang's not." I said just as frankly.

"Do you really think I care?" she said angrily."You know me better than that, Iggy. If you let it keep you from doing things you can do or if you took advantage of it like some people would, then it would bother me. But you don't, so it doesn't. Besides, Fang's dark and gloomy and, quite frankly, he's kind of creepy."

"Oh" was all I could say. I still couldn't get it to sink in. Max liked me back! I had never in a million years thought that could be possible!

"Yeah. Oh." she said but I could tell she was teasing me."Honestly, the night he kissed me, I ran away and slept in the rain, not that I slept much anyway. All I could think was 'what did I do wrong.' I knew things would be awkward between us and now is _not_ a good time for that."

"So true" I said, and then mentally smacked myself for not being able to come up with anything better. "You should get some sleep." I said." You have next watch, after all."

"Yeah, I guess" she said and went back to lay with the flock.

Author's Note: Please review! This is my first fic so I need to know what you think! Flames are accepted as long as you tell me why you hate it. Please say more than just 'I loved it' or 'I hated it.'


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: This chapter introduces the minions of my villain. I will probably introduce the villain in the next chapter. To those of you who don't like romance so you didn't read the last chapter, this is what happened: Max found out Iggy likes her and Iggy found out Max likes him back.

Disclamer: Look up disclaimer in the dictionary if you don't know what it means.

Max's Point of View

"Max!" I heard. "JJs coming our way!" I was suddenly wide awake. JJs are like the replacement for flyboys. They are Japanese men with jetpacks (thus the name JJs) and they have been trained by the best, unfortunately for us. Well, maybe not the best because we can beat them, but close.

"How many?" I asked Iggy, while waking the kids.

"Somewhere from 50 to 100." he responded.

"Get closer. We can take 50 but there's no way we can take 100." I said. As he left I said to the flock, "Get up pack your stuff and put it all on the ground straps up. We may need a fast take off." They obeyed immediately and I went to work packing my own stuff, not that much was out. We always prepare for stuff like this. That's one good thing we got from being on the run our whole l lives. Another is the fact that once we wake up, were 100 percent awake immediately. No grogginess for us! Igyy came back as we were finishing.

" 55" he said. "What do you think, Max?"

"55, hmm. I'll take 15, Fang, you take 15, Gazzy and Iggy together take 15, and Nudge and Angel, try for 10 total. And remember, we can do this. We've taken more than 55 erasers before, we can take 55 JJ's too. Up and away!" We flew towards the JJ's, knowing from experience that its better to take a fight head on rather than try to avoid it. The JJ's are basicly karate experts with jetpacks who can really pack a punch. They're regular humans, though, so we can take them pretty well. The thing is, though, they're getting smarter. They're figuring out our tactics. We were soon in the thick of what was a pretty evenly matched fight. That is, it _was_ an evenly matched fight. Until they pulled out the tranquellizer dart that they had brought along. I recognized it in time so I knew not to go by that JJ. Iggy, on the other hand, didn't see it (obviously) and unfortunatly decided to tackle that JJ next. Before I could even call out a warning Iggy was out cold. Now the bad thing about being knocked out in midair is that you don't keep flying. And we all know that when you stop flying, you fall. Fortunatly, Iggy was caught before he hit the ground. Unfortunatly, he was caught by a JJ. I couldn't watch anymore because, at that moment, I was attacked from behind by a JJ. I socked him hard, pouring all my frustration into that one punch. I knocked him out immediately. By the time I turned back aroung, Iggy was gone. The rest of the JJ's were leaving as well. The flock gathered around me, asking why they left.

"They got what they came for" was my only response. I reminded myself to be strong, if only for the rest of the flock.

"We're gonna get him back, right?" Gazzy asked, noticing who was missing immediatly.

"As soon as we find out where they went." I replied, and I knew that it was true, whether they had taken him 100 miles or to Mars. I needed Iggy. _We_ needed Iggy. It was then that I asked myself again 'what did I do wrong?' My life is just trial after trial. But this is no time for self-pity. We have to go save Iggy.

Author's Note: Many thanks to my one reviewer Calquendaani, You rock!! I hearby dedicate this chapter to you. I hope you like it!


	3. Chapter 3

Iggy's Point of View

They put a sack over my head, though I'm not exactly sure why. I woke up on the floor, in a cage (of course), with a sack over my head. I couldn't see any less with the sack on, nor did it prevent me from hearing anything. They spoke in whispers anybody would have been able to hear. I couldn't believe my ears! They thought the flock wouldn't come after them! They though they'd done them a favor! They had somehow gotten the crazy idea that I was a hindrance to the flock, that they'd done them a favor by relieving them of the responsibility of taking care of the blind boy! I suddenly understood why they hadn't left the room. They wanted me to hear this. They wanted me to think that nobody would come for me. Boy, they didn't know the flock at all. They'd come for me right away. Wouldn't they? No! Don't think like that! I silently scolded myself. You heard what Max said last night. Hang on to that. My next thought was, great, I've been in captivity less than a day and I'm already talking to myself inside my head and doubting the flock. This is going really well. I started listening again now, reasoning that they might let something important slip. They moved out into the next room but they didn't shut the door. I guess they thought I couldn't hear them anymore, because this was definitely not something they wanted me to hear. They said it in Japanese so it's a good thing Gaz and I learn while we had a chance. I never thought we'd need it though. I could still understand them, though. This is what they said.

"The boss will be happy with us. We got the boy."

"Hinata is never happy with anyone. I still find it ironic that his name means sunflower. That's like Hitler being named pansy in German."

"Tell me again why we're bothering with these freaks with wings. What do they have to do with killing all the Jews or world domination?"

"Apparently they stopped Itex, who were the ones who made the mutants. Hinata's not taking any chances."

"Itex was stopped by a couple of teenagers? They must have been weak."

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"So why were we only supposed to capture the blind one? What if they really do only think of him as a hindrance?"

"It's supposed to show us how loyal to each other they are."

"Why do we have to know that?"

"It's a weakness. Weaknesses are good to know."

"So he's a trap for the others?"

"Yeah, he is a trap."

"Why do we need to know weaknesses if we are just going to exterminate the pests anyway?"

"Are you a complete idiot? You should always learn weaknesses, no matter how long they're going to be around!"

"I know what my weakness is."

"What, greed?"

"No! This stupid place. We're in Osaka, the third largest city in Japan, and we're stuck in this fake Mitsubishi office all day. I'm bored out of my mind!"

"You want to be the one to tell the boss that? Do you know you're a moron?"

"Yeah-wait, hey! That wasn't nice. So he gets no food or water, right?"

"Water only. It might take time for them to get here." It was then that they left; leaving behind a very frightened Iggy, hoping the flock would be fast.

Author's Note: Sorry it's so short and kind of boring. I had to put it in though. Hinata really does mean sunflower in Japanese. Thanks to my reviewers Xafirz Wolf, flyinhigh, and BabySuni.

The idea for killing all the Jews was not my idea it was Hitler's and I don't agree with it at all. I just used it. I'm sorry if I offeneded anyone by using it.


	4. Chapter 4

Max's Point of View

Where do you start looking for someone who has been kidnapped by an evil Japanese man? In Japan, of course! We took the smart way there. We flew but every time we saw a boat we rested no matter which direction it was going. It was a lot faster than just taking a boat the whole way and it was a lot better than flying in a cramped little machine that doesn't even belong in the sky. We were there before morning. But where should we look now? I asked the flock what they thought.

"Tokyo" was Nudge's choice. Angel agreed. Gaz thought it would be in the middle of nowhere. Fang was more practical.

"They wouldn't be that obvious. It'll be a big city, but not the biggest."

"Shall we start in Yokohama, then?" I asked. **(Note: Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan.)**

"Sounds good to me" Fang said. The rest agreed. We flew slightly to the south and were there in no time as Yokohama is just south of Tokyo and we had landed just west of it. On the flight there I thought about where to start looking. I knew that if they were under the disguise or protection of a company it would have to be one that had offices all over the world. I knew Sony, Nissan and Mitsubishi were some Japanese ones. We'd start there.

"Max, I'm hungry." Or we could start there. We had to walk because even though Yokohama isn't the biggest city in Japan it still has a population of over 3,000,000 and I wasn't about to chance us getting delayed too much. We ate breakfast quickly at a Japanese restaurant and left fast. Good thing Iggy and Gaz had bothered to learn Japanese. We had to find Iggy, and fast. We started at the north end of the city and worked our way to the south, thoroughly inspecting any offices or shops of any of those companies we came up empty handed. The flock was starting to get discouraged but they knew we couldn't give up or we'd never forgive ourselves if anything happened to him while we were taking a break. We pressed on and finished scouring the city by nightfall. We had been thorough but fast and efficient because we knew we had to be. Even Motor Mouth Nudge was quiet for once. We had a huge dinner because we had skipped lunch. I had been to preoccupied to think about food and none of the kids complained. I wouldn't have noticed dinner either if Fang hadn't reminded me. We stopped in a hotel for the night and instead of going through the whole ordeal of eating at a restaurant. The delivery boy probably would have refused to give us that much food if he had known he was delivering to six teens but we didn't let him in the room so it was fine. We shared one giant room with three queen size beds in it courtesy of the Max Ride credit card. Fang tried to give me the third bed because Angel and Nudge were sharing but I convinced him with the logic that I wasn't going to sleep anyway. I'm sure threatening that I'd move him to the bed when he fell asleep anyway helped too. I was right. I didn't sleep at all. I was worried about Iggy. I knew he could take care of himself but I couldn't help it. I kept torturing myself with horrible images of what they could be doing to him. At about 3 am I finally couldn't take it. I had to _do_ something. I couldn't bear just sitting by myself worrying. I threw open the window and took off into the night sky.

Author's note: Thanks to my reviewers O Wingless One (2) and Xafirz Wolf. You guys rock. I need to know which direction I should go with this. Should I:

Have Max trying to rescue Iggy and getting herself captured in the inescapable trap that Hinata's cronies set.

Have Max just fly around then come back and the whole flock try to rescue Iggy together.

(Insert you're own idea here).

I need replies or I won't update after chapter five. Yes I'm a meanie! Hahaha!

Points for anyone who can guess which flock member said "I'm hungry" in this chapter. Sorry about the shortness!


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: **Warning: **This chapter should be rated T! If you are reading this and you can't read T things, skip this chapter! It's not super important to the plot but I posted it because I like how Iggy is feeling in it.

Iggy's Point of View

If ever there was a time where Max didn't mind me swearing, now would be it. It hurt so badly. I couldn't distract my mind. All I could think about was the pain. I didn't know it was possible to hurt this much. I didn't understand why they wanted information about the flock but I did know one thing. They weren't getting it from me. No matter what they did to me they could never get me to betray Max or the flock, for any price. I knew that they might stop the pain if I told but I also knew they might not. I wasn't willing to risk that. But gosh, it just hurt so badly. I knew that was the point and they were getting it across quite efficiently. I didn't know how much longer I could hold out. I didn't want to die, but I didn't want to live like this either. I was getting desperate. My thoughts were turning traitor. I didn't want to betray the flock but I wanted the pain to stop. Unfortunately, the side that fought for my loyalty to the flock was starting to lose. I couldn't take it. Then I thought of Max. Of how she would feel if she found out I betrayed the flock. Of how disappointed she would be if she saw me like this, losing against myself. She always said you're not really strong unless you can beat yourself. I never got that until now. I knew I had to make it through this. If not for me, then for Max, I had to do it. She could win this battle so I had to show that I could too. Besides, would I really be able to live with myself if I betrayed them? No. I wouldn't. It would cut me deeper than any physical damage. The side that fought for loyalty to the flock was gaining ground back. I pushed harder and all thoughts of betrayal were pushed to the back of my mind. I would never let them back. Guess who decided to visit me then. You got it. Hinata's first crony, who's name happened to be Isamu, which means courage. Yeah, it takes a lot of courage to torture a defenseless blind boy with a knife. I knew he had come back for another round. I'm not proud of what I did next. I whimpered and rolled into the corner. I knew what he was capable of. He enjoyed causing me pain. I could tell from the aura of pure joy emanating from him. It sickens me to think that someone could really enjoy hurting someone else that much. I was right that he had come to hurt me more, not that I was happy about it. He pulled out his knife, it obviously being the weapon that he favored. He held it up to my cheek and asked me for the thousandth time what the flock's weak points were. I refused to tell him, again, and he dug the knife into my cheek and dragged it almost _lovingly_ down the side of my face. This guy was an expert at torture. He dug it in deep enough to make it hurt like h#$ but shallow enough so that I couldn't bleed so much that I would pass out. It added pain on top of pain on top of pain. He had been doing this on and off, but mostly on, for nearly 24 hours. I didn't know if I could do this. I pictured Max and fought as hard as I could. I kept from telling this time, but I just don't know how much more I can take. I didn't even have enough energy to lift my head high enough to get enough momentum to make my self pass out. 'Max, hurry up' I thought.

Thanks to my awesome reviewers Xafirz Wolf and anonymouse13(4!!).

Those of you who get points for getting my question right are Xafirz Wolf and anonymouse13.

The answer was Nudge.

I hate being mean to Iggy like this but I really don't think his captors would be very nice.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: One of my reviewers pointed out to me that this story kind of starts in the middle. I agree. Because of that I will write a prequel to this story so if there is anything that confused you please tell me.

Max's Point of View

_I_ _had to do something. I couldn't bear just sitting by myself worrying. I threw open the window and took off into the night sky._

I flew fast, using my super speed to get to Osaka within an hour, seeing as it's only about 240 miles from Yokohama. I hope the flock understood when they woke up without me there. Fang would, I just had to hope he got up first. In Osaka I started the same way we did in Yokohama. It went a lot faster with just me. Don't get me wrong, I love the flock; they just slow me down sometimes. It's a hassle, but its well worth it. I sped from office to factory to office again. It helped that it was night so nobody was left anywhere. Not even the earliest risers were out on the streets yet so I kept my wings out and flew around the city, hiding them when I got near a building. I quickly found a suspicious looking Mitsubishi Office and went to investigate it. I couldn't quite put my finger on it but something about it was different from all the rest. I swooped down at it after inspecting it from above and realized what was wrong. It was about three feet wider from above. There was just enough space for a secret staircase hiding in the back. Or I was just being paranoid. But, hey, paranoia pays off sometimes. Like right now. I looked behind all the pictures and found a little red button under the last one I checked. (Duh. Why would I keep looking if I found it?) I pushed the button and a panel slid smoothly over to reveal (what else?) a hidden staircase. I folded in and carefully hid my wings before silently descending the staircase.

Iggy's Point of View

I couldn't help it. The third time in this bout of torture and I couldn't take it. I cried out. It was involuntary but I couldn't stop myself. I was over the edge.

Max's Point of View

I heard the scream and I knew immediately that I was in the right place. I would recognize that scream anywhere, as few times that I've heard it. What scared me was how inhuman and tortured it sounded. I knew Iggy had to be in a lot of pain because it takes a lot to make him scream. I was scared but I pressed on because I knew Iggy needed me now more than ever. I followed the inhuman screech down the hall and around a corner into a block of cells. I passed quite a few empty cells before I came to Iggy's. What I saw will haunt my dreams forever. (The rest of this paragraph should defiantly be rated T. You can skip it if you want to. Please do if gory things give you nightmares as I don't want to cause any distress to any of my wonderful readers. I apologize to those of you who dislike these kinds of things. Blame my mind. My hands just typed it.) Iggy looked terrible and that's the understatement of the century. He had open wounds everywhere there was skin. I would be surprised if his skin wasn't permanently died red from the blood that ran in crimson rivers all over his body. His skin was nearly as shredded as his clothing. I didn't know how he was still alive, not to mention conscious. 

It was enough to make me act irrationally, which rarely happens. I leapt into the cell and jumped on the man with the knife (Isamu, as we found out in chapter 5). I didn't think and I got myself caught. I highly doubt I could've gotten out with Iggy anyway and I certainly wasn't leaving him behind. It was a setup. I was surrounded by a thousand men with guns and jet packs. Not even the whole flock performing at their best could have gotten out of there. I was roughly pushed into the cell with Iggy and the man with the knife left and locked the cell behind him. This was not a normal jail cell. It had a wall with a door instead of bars. It was made of metal. It was impossible to get out, even for me. They were obviously well prepared. They left and I rushed over to Iggy. 

"Max?" he croaked. I shushed him because I could tell it hurt him to talk. Heck, it hurt him to do anything. 

"Max. Knock me out" he said insistently. At first I was confused but then I realized how much pain he was probably in. I complied although it hurt me that I had probably just contributed to his pain when he woke up. I hated that though so I shoved it away.

"What are we going to do?" I muttered hopelessly.

Thanks to my fabulous reviewers O Wingless One, cratermaker and Xafirz Wolf. Special Thanks to Xafirz Wolf, who has been my most loyal reviewer. I love hearing from you! 


	7. Chapter 7

Fang's Point of View

I woke and Max was gone. I panicked until I realized this was Max we were talking about. There were no signs of a struggle and Max wouldn't go without a fight. Therefore, she obviously left of her own accord, presumably to look for Iggy. I looked at the clock and was astonished to find that it was already 8 o' clock. I never sleep that long unless I'm utterly exhausted, deathly ill, or I've been drugged. I knew I wasn't ill and I sincerely hoped no one had drugged me. I dismissed it from my mind and woke the kids. Max had a huge head start and I wasn't waiting any longer. 

We went through a drive through/walk through. We ate in the air. I knew Max wouldn't rest until she found him so we had to be faster but just as thorough. I hoped Max could manage without me for a while. Then I rethought that. Max can take care of herself. I know that. I still worry though. Knowing Max, she probably did something without thinking. She rushes to help then thinks about the consequences. I knew I had to hurry. Max is strong but headstrong. 

We got to Osaka in two hours after a fast hard flight without breaks. I hated to do that to the kids but I knew it was necessary and so did they. We had to land carefully since it was now 10 o' clock and everyone was up and about now. It was going to take us five times longer than it took Max. We had to deal with nosy people, walking, and fences (I don't know if they have any fences in Japanese cities but for this story I'll just say they do).

After two hours we were only about one-fifth of the way through the city and we had to stop for lunch. We decided to go with takeout. Let me tell you, cashiers do not like giving eight year old boys enough food for about twelve humans. Eventually we got him to give it to us after using the Max Ride credit card. Fortunately Max knew we would need it more. Unfortunately, that meant she probably hadn't eaten since late yesterday. I slipped the apple I was about to eat into my pocket, then after thinking about it again, I had Gazzy go across the street to the fruit vendor and but twenty more. They were easy to carry and if we found Iggy as well I wanted to be prepared. We started walking again.

Max's Point of View

They came back with water not too long after they left. I was really thirsty but I knew Iggy needed it even more than I did. I drank a little then decided to wait for him too wake up. He did, a little sooner than I would have preferred. I made him swallow as much as possible. When there was only about half an inch of water left in the small bowl I used Iggy's shirt as a rag and wiped most of the blood off. I had to do something to prevent infection. I was amazed at what I saw. Without the blood you could tell there was barely any skin they had left untouched. The worst part was when I flipped him over and saw his wings. I didn't know if he would even be able to fly without professional medical help first. His wings were mangled and the feathers were all out of line. I bet that hurt nearly as bad as the physical pain. Our wings are special to us. They're what make us different from the humans. Violating them is the lowest thing someone can do. We don't even mess with them when were fighting each other or even when were just messing around. I was furious. What infuriated me the most was that I couldn't do anything about it. I hate being helpless. I did the only thing I could do. I fixed his wings as best as I could and hoped that we could get out of here soon.

Many thanks to my awesome reviewers flyinhigh, Xafirz Wolf, and anonymouse13 (2). You guys rock! Especially anonymouse13 and Xafirz Wolf who review all or all but one of my chapters. I love getting your reviews so much!! You guys get virtual brownies!! Please review. I would so love to get 25 reviews total by the time I post chapter 8. I haven't written it yet so I have no idea when that will be but it should be soon. 


	8. Chapter 8

Fang's Point of View

Angel was constantly scanning for any thought of Max or Iggy, but without much hope. It's hard to pick up individuals, even familiar ones, with this many people around.

It was about three P.M. now and we were getting restless. I knew we couldn't stop now though. We had to keep going and hope we got lucky soon. We were all starting to lose hope when suddenly Angel gasped.

"What is it?" I asked, immediately on the alert.

"I just picked up something from Max. It was suppressed pity and unsuppressed worry. There was also a little fear and the strongest emotions were anger and indignation. I can't get any thoughts. There's too much material in between us. I think it came from below us though."

I scanned for the nearest building and found a Mitsubishi office and a Nissan office equally close.

"Angel, could you tell from which direction under us it came from?" I asked, already considering all possible entrances and exits for each building.

"I think it was slightly north of us. It might've been west though. It was really faint."

"That's all I needed Angel."

North and west would be the Mitsubishi offices. We decided to do a complete scan of the exterior before moving in. The building had three front windows, two side windows, and no rear windows. The door in front was made out of regular glass as were the window panes. Our choices for exits were limited but those that we had would all work well for a fast escape. Glass is no obstacle for us.

Then we walked in the front door. No fancy sneaking in through the air vents for us. We just walked in and went up to the front desk.

"Could you tell us what you do here? It's for a school project." Gazzy smiled sweetly at her after he said this.

"No problem but why are there so many of you here?"

Gazzy knew exactly how to reply to this because that was exactly how I had predicted she would react.

"Nick was left in charge" he said, motioning to Fang "and he wouldn't let me go alone or leave any of the kids he was watching behind." "He's kinda paranoid" he leaned in and whispered.

"I see. We do all the paperwork here for Mitsubishi dealerships nearby" she explained to Gazzy while Fang reclined looking bored. He was actually learning as much as he could about the place. There was an elevator in one corner but when one worker came out Fang saw that it didn't go down, only up. There were several pictures in the back but not much else on the main floor. After about three more minutes in which the front desk lady gave a really long and extremely boring speech about what they did, Fang stood up and the others followed suit. Gazzy excused himself and they left.

Then came the worst part of all. We had to wait until nightfall. The desk lady would be replaced then and all innocent workers would be out of the building, I hoped. I hate it when innocent people get hurt when it can be avoided.

Nightfall came soon enough.

We had a plan. We needed everyone in the flock for it too work right but we were all here so no worries. At least that's what I told myself. I wasn't convinced.

We went in the front door again but this time it was no lady at the desk. Not that we expected it to be. It was a security guy. I could tell by the way he was tense and alert. This was where Nudge came in. Nudge went up to the security guard and babbled the way only Nudge can. That is a perfect distraction. Especially when the security guards haven't been told the flock is all kids. That's only told on a need to know basis because they don't want to admit Itex got beat by a bunch of kids. No security guard will suspect a twelve year old girl of anything but being annoying. We snuck past without being noticed. I figured there was probably a hidden staircase in the back. I was guessing the switch was behind one of the pictures in the back. I just hoped it wasn't activated by fingerprints or anything like that. If it was, the only way we were getting down there was if we were caught ourselves.

We started on the left searching under every picture for a switch, being careful not to make much noise. We found it soon enough. It revealed a secret staircase. We started down carefully. Unfortunately there was no way Nudge could come with us. At least that meant she would be out of danger.

We snuck carefully down the stairway. I had Angel constantly scanning for Max, Iggy, or any enemies. She found Max first, because she was familiar and a lot stronger than Iggy. Then she noticed more.

"Fang, it's a trap. They're surrounded by almost one hundred people, all alert and waiting for us. At least half of them have guns because they're thinking about it."

"Can you put them to sleep?" I asked.

"I can, but it will take a little time and I won't be able to control when they wake up."

"That's fine, Ang. Do it anyway."We waited while Angel put all the guard to sleep one by one. That was when we made our move. Gaz only had one bomb left because he had used them all during all the battle with JJ's we had had recently. He used that bomb to blow the lock on the cell door open. It was a small one so it didn't make too much noise but it easily blew the door apart. Max looked up immediately but Iggy rolled up and cowered in the corner.

"Max, we have to hurry. The guards could wake up at any time." I said.

Max's Point of View

Iggy wasn't doing well. He was in a lot of pain and he wasn't even trying to hide it. That means it was terrible. Suddenly I heard a loud bang and Fang stepped in and said "Max, we have to hurry. The guards could wake up at any time. Iggy though it was another crony come to torture him. He rolled in to the corner and cowered there.

I went over to him and started to talk to him.

"Iggy, it's alright. The flock came to rescue us." I don't think it was registering in his brain. I knew what I had to do but I didn't like it. I did it anyway. I knocked him out again. It was the only way to get him out. Otherwise he would fight it the whole way. I picked him up and asked Fang if he had a plan. He told me to toss Iggy's shirt to Gazzy. I was confused, but I did it anyway.

Gazzy flipped it inside out and started to take apart the stitching. I was even more confused now, but I didn't bother asking because Gazzy looked like he knew what he was doing.

"Why aren't we leaving?" I asked Fang.

"We're going to leave them a little something to remember us by." Now I was even more confused but when I saw what Gaz pulled out of the seams of Iggy's shirt I understood. Gazzy was making a bomb. I was impressed. Then I noticed who was missing.

"Where's Nudge?"

"Upstairs."

"Wh-."

"Later." I hated being left in the dark but I knew we had to keep the noise to a minimum so I didn't say anything else. Gazzy had tons of practice so the bomb was done reasonably soon. I picked Iggy back up and we started up the stairs. That was when Angel said, "crap."

"How many?" was all Fang said so I'm guessing he had told her to tell him when a guard was coming.

"3. They're all cocky and overconfident. We can take them easy."

"Good. I'll be right back" Fang replied and ran back the way we came. I think he was a little overconfident too, but I guess he does have the right to be. Three humans are no problem for us. Unless they have guns. Which, unfortunately, these three did. I heard a whoosh of air as someone got the air knocked out of them, then a gun shot.

Fang's Point of view

Three humans? No problem. Unless of course they have guns. Then it's a problem. I knocked the air out of one of them before they got any shots in. I knocked him out after the first shot went ricocheting of the wall near my head.

Then I ran. I'm not a coward. I'm smart. If I would have stayed, I would have been severely injured or killed. I'm not that stupid. I knew the flock had heard that shot so I hoped Angel was trying to put these guys back to sleep. I knew that was true when I heard one of them drop like a rock behind me. These guys had been trained well. The other enemy didn't even hesitate when his partner went down. I kept running, well aware of the fact that I was getting further away from the flock and the exit with every step. He was closing in. I did what he least expected. I turned around and ran straight past him. I was expecting a barrage of shots to come after me. What I got was totally different. I heard just one shot. I kept running and got back to the flock. I heard Max gasp and I turned to her, a questioning look on my face.

Max's Point of View

I couldn't help it. I gasped. He had a red line across his neck. The pain obviously hadn't registered with him yet because he turned towards me with a questioning look on his face. I pointed in response. He couldn't see it; it was on the side of his neck.

"What?"

I hated to be the one to tell him but I had to. "Fang, I think you were shot."

"What?! I thought being shot hurt!"

"It _will_ hurt. It just doesn't yet." I hated to scare him like that but I knew it was true. I knew it from experience. I could see Fang's wasn't too deep though. It had just grazed the side of his neck. I was glad for that. I don't want Fang to die or even be severely hurt. I also can't have two bird boys who can't fly. Nobody could carry them.

We had to go though. Gazzy activated his bomb and we ran up the steps, punched out the reception guy and took off. The place exploded behind us. Boy did it feel great to be out in the fresh air and flying again!

We split up in case they somehow miraculously survived and followed us. Gazzy found Nudge and they went one way, Fang and Angel went another, and I, carrying Iggy, went a third. Just before we split up we decided to meet on top of a cliff we had all seen on our way into Osaka.

Wow, this one's long. Yay! I almost made it into two, but I thought since I got so many reviews I'd be nice. I almost made it to 25! One away! 30 before I post chapter 9 would be so awesome! Sorry it took so long!!

Thanks to my reviewers flyinhigh, Xafirz Wolf, O Wingless One, Xxhikari-no-tenshixX and anonymouse13. I love you guys! Especially my loyalist reviewers Xafirz Wolf and anonymouse13! I love constructive criticism! It makes me even happier than just saying you loved it because it shows that you're a nice person and you care about some random person and I think that's so awesome! I will return the favor if you review! I promise!


	9. Chapter 9

I sincerely apologize for taking so long with this!! I'm so sorry!! I forgot to bring my notebook with me on vacation!! And I couldn't find any paper or remember where I left off. I'm so sorry!! Thanks so much for not abandoning me. I was having problems writing this chapter. I don't really know where I'm going with this but I promise that no matter how long it takes me to update, I won't abandon this story until it's finished! I'm using way too many exclamation points!!

Max's Point of View

I took the long way to the cliff. I couldn't help it. Flying felt so good after being in a small room. It felt like I was free again. It's times like these when I'm actually thankful to Itex for giving me the ability to fly. Then I remember what they did to us. I don't know whether I despise them or am grateful to them. I think it's both.

I would have flown longer but I knew Iggy needed help. I glided smoothly to the cliff and gently laid him down. The others came out and said hi. They were scared for Iggy though. This was the first time any of them had seen him more than a quick glance at the office. He looked terrible but a lot better than he had when I had first seen him.

"We need to get him help. No matter what the cost. Even if we have to go to a hospital" I said, and I knew it was true. Iggy needed help.

"What will we tell them? You know they'll ask."Fang replied. I knew he was right. Even if they didn't ask about how he got the cuts they would surely ask about the wings. I had no answer.

"We'll figure it out on the way."

"On the way to where? Max, we have to think this through. They obviously didn't want to kill him so he'll be fine. We have to stop and think."

I couldn't process what he was saying. The only coherent though I was capable was 'wow, being leader for a day made Fang talk a lot more.' That wasn't helpful.

"Fang, would you mind being leader a little longer?" I didn't understand what was wrong with me. I couldn't form thoughts; I felt like I was about to collapse. Then I did.

Fang's Point of View

I was confused. Max would never ask me to stay leader. Then she collapsed. I knew something must be wrong. Max didn't faint from hunger unless it had been at least a week. Itex had tested that once. It was terrible.

'What did they do to you?' I asked silently. Then I turned to the flock.

"Sorry guys, we have to fly. Max and Iggy both need a hospital." I said. They didn't even question me until we were in the air. I was carrying Max and Gaz and Nudge were both carrying Iggy. It wasn't easy, but it was necessary. Then the questions came at me.

"What's wrong with Max?" Gazzy asked. I hated not being able to answer that.

"I don't know."

"How are we going to explain the wings?" That one was from Angel.

"I don't know."

"Are they going to be okay?" That was Nudge, but that was all she said. I was amazed. That one I did have an answer to.

"Yes" I said forcefully. I needed to believe that. I needed them to believe that too. If we didn't, we would fall apart.

We flew to the nearest hospital and landed in an alley on the side of it. We went in to the receptionist through the front door. We've been doing a lot of that lately. She asked what we needed.

"A doctor who won't ask too many questions. It's nothing illegal, just not something we want publicized."

I could tell she was confused, but she didn't ask, and I was grateful for that. We were admitted quickly. I think they could tell Max and Iggy needed help soon.

A doctor in a white coat walked into the room and it took most of my self control to keep from panicking. The smell of antiseptic wasn't helping.

"What seems to be the problem here?" he asked.

"Max passed out for no reason and James (their name for Iggy around others), we're not really sure yet. He has multiple cuts and has been knocked out by blunt force twice. That may be it, or not."

"Could Max have passed out in shock after seeing what happened to James?" He didn't know Max at all.

"No way. Max has seen a lot worse things than this and held out with no problems."

"I'll have to take your word for that. Do you know the extent of James' injuries?"

"No, I don't."

"Then I will start with his examination. Do you want to stay?" he asked, eyeing the little kids as if wondering how they would take it.

"Monique (Nudge), will you stay here while I settle the little kids then you can join them when I come back?" I asked because I didn't trust the doctor to be alone with Iggy but I knew the kids needed to be settled down because it was getting late.

She understood and nodded. I left hesitantly, wanting to stay but knowing the kids were more important right now. I asked the receptionist which room Max and 'James' would be in and settled the kids there.

I went back to the examination room and wasn't surprised to find Nudge facing the wall, not wanting to see how bad Iggy looked right now.

"Nudge" I whispered to her, "room 117, just down the hall." She nodded mutely and walked out. I walked over to the doctor.

"How's he doing?" I asked.

"I've only checked the front so far but if the back is the same or better, he should be fine I a day or two, these wounds seem to be a day or two old at the newest. Some of them have already scabbed over. How long have they been there?" he asked the question with a slight accusatory tone, probably wondering why we hadn't brought him to the hospital earlier.

"I don't know. I wasn't there." Finishing with the front, the doctor gently flipped Iggy over and cut the back of his shirt off so he could see. I didn't know what to expect. I heard him gasp. He looked at me.

"He has wings?"

Thanks to my reviewers yourcool79, anonymouse13, Xafirz Wolf, O Wingless One and flyinhigh. You guys rock so much!!

Please, please review!! I will return the favor!!

I did enable anonymous reviews; I didn't know they were off. Sorry!


	10. Chapter 10

Fang's Point of View

"_He has wings?"_

I decided to do what I usually do which was not say anything. I let him stare at me incredulously for a minute, but soon he turned back to Iggy.

"I don't know if he will be able to fly for a while; his wings are in pretty bad shape. Most of the feathers are going to have to be removed because they are mangled beyond use. Other than that he will be fine in a day or two."

"As long as he's not awake when you pull the feathers that should be fine."

Iggy chose that moment to wake up. He noticed the smell of antiseptic and immediately jumped up and backed against the wall to get his bearings, simultaneously going into a fighting stance. He was a little slower than usual but it was probably just the aftereffects of being knocked out by Max. The doctor was surprised, to say the least. I decided to step in before Iggy attacked him. That might be hard to explain.

"Ig, it's alright." He relaxed a bit at the sound of my voice, but he didn't drop his fighting stance. The doctor was even more confused now, probably wondering why I called 'James' Ig.

"It's a hospital, James. You and Max needed help." He immediately dropped his fighting stance after he heard that.

"What's wrong with Max?" he asked, obviously concerned.

"We don't know yet. She passed out soon after she landed."

"I'm guessing Max knocked me out because I was freaking out. Sorry about that." At least we knew his memory wasn't damaged."I think they did something to my reflexes. I couldn't react at all to what you guys were saying."

"You responded pretty fast to the smell of antiseptic, just then."

"It's a little better. It's nowhere near usual though."

"Okay. Do you have any idea if they did anything to Max?"

"I don't know what they did but they did take her into a different room one time. But, Nick," he said, picking up on the fake names right away, "I don't think she'll remember anything. I think they figured out how to tamper with memories. I can't remember at all how they managed to catch me. They brought her back unconscious and when she woke up she acted like she had been there all along. Her tone matched what she was saying precisely so I don't think she was lying."

"That's not good. We'll figure that out later. In the meantime, James, you're going to have to let me knock you out again. We need to pluck your feathers so they can come in again."

"I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Nope."

"Okay, but be quick about it, and not too hard." I pulled my fist back and knocked him out. This shocked the doctor out of his frozen state.

"We do have antiseptic, you know."

"I know. This is easier."

I won't go into details about the feather plucking, but I will tell you that Iggy's going to be sore tomorrow. Getting your feathers plucked is not a fun thing to experience. Fortunately, they grow back reasonably fast. Because there is no major damage to his wings, Iggy should be able to fly tomorrow or the next day.

We settled him in the room and then it was Max's turn.

"Does she have, you know, wings, too?" the doctor asked hesitantly.

"Yeah."

"Is there any other differences other than the wings?"

"We're a lot lighter, we heal really fast, and we need a lot more calories per day. Those are the main differences."

"Thanks."

After a lot of waiting, we finally found out that Max is in a state that is almost comatose, and there's nothing they can do about it. They're still trying out figure out what could've caused it.

It hit us all pretty hard that the Invincible Max could be rendered helpless.

I took watch all night. I wasn't going to sleep anyway and the kids and Iggy needed their rest. I didn't really expect trouble but it's a habit.

It turned out that it was a good thing I had stayed awake because Iggy woke up in the middle of the night. He freaked a bit at the antiseptic smell until he remembered what had happened earlier.

"Fang?" he asked in a low whisper, "are you awake?"

"Yeah."

"How's Max?"

"She's still out cold. They can't figure out what caused it. You need your rest, Ig. Try to sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

"Kay" he said, already half asleep.

Many thanks to my reviewers, cratermaker, Makmay04, Xafirz Wolf and flyinhigh.

I love you guys!! Please review!!

I wrote a oneshot!! Please read and review it! I will love you forever if you do! And, as always, I will return the favor! No one has reviewed it yet. Please, please review it.


	11. Chapter 11

**Angel's Point of View**

Iggy was fine when he woke up in the morning. Max wasn't. Fang came up to me not long after the whole flock was awake.

"Angel?"  
"Yeah?"

"Can you read Max's mind?"

"I haven't tried. Hang on." I tried harder than I had ever tried before. I closed my eyes and found Fang, then Iggy, then Gaz and Nudge. I couldn't find Max, but wait, what was that? It was really faint, but it was there. The rest of the flock's thoughts were overshadowing it. I opened my eyes.

"Can you guys leave for a second? I can sense her, but you guys are blocking it."

"Meet out in the hallway you guys!" Fang called. The flock filed out.

_'Max?' _I asked mentally, searching for her thoughts.

_'Ang?' _she thought back, but it was weak.

_'Do you remember what happened?'_

_'No, but I think it's still in my head, I just can remember it.'_ That was all the conversation she had the strength for, but I still had contact. I sifted through memory after memory, looking for the right one. I was horrified by the shape Iggy had been in when Max had first been caught. The memories were in chronological order, so I knew I had gone too far back though. I came back a little ways and found a barrier. It was simple enough to break through because it had been designed to keep Max out, not me. I was soon immersed in the memory, and I was living it as Max, not as a bystander.

**Angel as Max's Point of View**

_They came to take me away from Iggy. I fought, but there were too many of them, and I was overpowered. They told me that they were going to inject me with xylemorphic fluid. They told me that after a delayed reaction, I would enter a coma like state and the only way to escape it would be to get the antidote, but they could still tell me that because there was no way I would wake up, and I wouldn't remember the conversation or the injection anyway. They also told me that they had the only antidote. I fought, unwilling to let them do that to me. There were too many. I felt the prick of the needle entering the skin, then blackness. I woke up later, back in the cell I shared with Iggy. I couldn't remember a thing. Iggy kept asking me what had happened, and I was confused. _What had happened when?_ I didn't understand, and that was confusing Iggy. Eventually he quit asking, but I could see in his eyes that he was determined to find out what had happened._

**Angel's Point of View**

I found myself suddenly back in my own body. I had mixed feelings. There was a cure, but we had blown it up. There might be more, but if there was, it was with our enemies.

"Fang?" I asked aloud.

"Yeah?" he asked, coming back into the room.

"Can I send you this mentally? It would be a lot easier than trying to explain."

"Go ahead." I sent him the whole memory.

**Fang's Point of View**

Crap. We may have blown up the only cure. We had to see whether there was a cure anywhere else. But we couldn't leave Max alone. But we weren't supposed to split up. But this was important. _Am I really arguing with myself?_ Wow. Time to tell the flock.

"Guys? Can you come in here?" They shuffled in. "We found out what is wrong with Max." I saw Iggy's eyes light up when I said that. "But the cure was in the building we blew up." His face fell again. There may be others in other hideouts but we don't know. But we can't leave Max here alone. I want you guys to vote. Either we have to stay here and hope she gets better eventually or we have to split up." I handed them each a small slip of paper. "Put down your vote and bring it to me in an hour. Your vote will be kept anonymous."

Many thanks to my reviewers, Xafirz Wolf, Digger Forever -Amanda C-, and themeaningoflifeis42 (2). I'm so sorry this took so long!! I had a major case of Writer's Block for this story!! For those of you who stuck with me over that extremely long update break, thank you so much!!

Please Review!! It will make me update faster!! As always, I will return the favor!!  
()


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks so much to my reviewers Xafirz Wolf, O Wingless One, and a special thanks to Hello I'm Emo, whose mega-encouraging review helped a lot when I had a major case of writers block.

--

Fang's POV

The votes had been cast. I opened the first one with anticipation. In light, childish block letters, it read

Split up. Max shouldn't be moved but someone needs to go get the cure.

I winced inwardly. Every vote counted a lot when only five of us were voting. I quickly moved on to the next one. In my own, distinctly male lettering, it said

**Try to move her. We promised we'd always stay together.**

I set it next to the other one and picked up the next slip. In the neat printed letters of a small boy who hasn't written enough to develop his own style, it showed

**Stick together. We could alternate flying with her.**

I allowed myself a small, internal, celebration, and then moved on. In large, girly script, this one read

_Split up. We don't know what moving her could do._

My face showed no expression though I nearly swore in my head. We try to refrain from doing that because of the six year old mind reader. I picked up the next one with dread. Only Iggy was left, and I had a feeling he would vote to split up. Sure enough, in the flowing script that Iggy used to keep his letters from overlapping, it said

_**Split up. She shouldn't be moved and moving her would be impractical.**_

"The people have spoken," I said, not a hint of my disappointment showing, my mask firmly in place.

"And what do the people say?" Iggy asked. He was the only one who couldn't read the notes lying on the table.

"We're splitting up," I said. "I'll stay behind."

"That's stupid," I heard Iggy say. "I'll stay behind. You'll be of more use if you go. I think I can manage sitting in a hospital without too much trouble." I could hear a hint of accompanying bitterness in his voice during the last statement. "Besides, she needs you to go. I can feel it."

Iggy's feelings were rarely wrong, and his logic was sound, but I wasn't going to be split up from Max again, not without a fight, however hopeless it might be.

"I'll st-" I got no further. Iggy sent me a glare that would have had an eight foot tall mountain man quivering in his boots. I didn't protest any longer.

"You should go now," Iggy suggested. "You'll be back sooner."

I still didn't want to go, but I couldn't come up with an excuse to tarry any longer. I walked over to the bed where Max lay. She looked as though she could be sleeping. I brushed a lock of hair back from her face, and kissed her forehead.

"We'll find the cure, Max. I promise."

Angel, Nudge, Gazzy and I climbed several sets of steps to the roof, discussed where we would go next.

"I say we try the next biggest city," Nudge suggested. It'll go faster now that we only have to search Mitsubishi offices." I agreed, and we took of toward Nagoya, Japan's fourth largest city.

--

Iggy's POV

"The people have spoken," Fang finally said.

"And what do the people say?" I asked warily.

"We're splitting up." I allowed my self a silent sigh of relief. We wouldn't worsen her condition by trying to move her. Then I heard Fang's next, ludicrous statement. "I'll stay behind."

"That's stupid," I said immediately. "I'll stay behind." I wasn't going to leave Max. I had realized something while I was in that cell, something that had always been there but that I had never acknowledged. I liked Max far more than the brotherly-sisterly liking that I had always thought.

"You'll be of more use if you go. I think I can manage sitting in a hospital without too much trouble." I said the last statement a bit bitterly. "Besides, she needs you to go. I can feel it." I could, really. It was a random feeling, just a nudge of my thoughts, but I recognized it. I had been getting these feelings recently, and they hadn't been wrong yet.

"I'll st-" he protested. I shot him a menacing glare. He never finished his protests.

"You should go now," I told them. "You'll be back sooner." I could tell he was searching for an excuse to delay, but not finding one, I heard his footsteps approach Max's bed. I heard him kiss her forehead, and for the first time in my life, I truly understood what jealousy felt like.

I though I had been jealous of the others being able to see before, but this was entirely different. I felt an odd urge to punch Fang. I fought it back easily enough, Fang was my best friend. It scared me though. What if I _did_ lose control? I pushed those thoughts aside in time to hear Fang whisper to Max.

"We'll find the cure, Max. I promise."

I heard four sets of footsteps leave the room, though one lingered for a moment.

"And then there were two," Angel's little girl voice said, laced with disappointment and bitterness that didn't belong in the voice of a six-year-old. Before I could understand this, she disappeared.

--

Angel's POV

I was bitter. Oh yes, I was very bitter. It was hard enough dealing with Max's confusion over her feelings for Fang, and Fang's borderline obsession with Max, but now I had to deal with Iggy loving her too. I hate hormonal teens.

--

Oh my gosh. I am so, so, so, so, so, sorry!! I won't make excuses. My muse just deserted me. From now on I'm going to finish stories before I start posting. On the positive side, I finally figured out how I'm going to end this story. It should go faster from now on. Please review anyway. It's a little short, and not much happened, but it's something.

Very serious question: I think I should delete chapter one. how many of you think the same? You can answer in a review or the poll on my profile or both, but please vote.


	13. Chapter 13

Many, many thanks to Enigma Wolf, liv-twilight-edward-life, and Hello I'm EMO for reviewing!

It seems that I will, in fact, be leaving chapter one. I am surprised at that actually, I thought the chapter sucked. I will try to revise it after I finish. I'm sorry this one took me so long too, I said I had the whole story planned, and I do, but my muses refused to write this story, instead starting another, that I refuse to start publishing until I'm done with this one.

To any of you who didn't review, but thought Angel's last comment was OOC, I believe that yes, it was OOC for the way JP meant Angel to be, but I think Angel could quite possibly be that way. We never see her thoughts in the books and I know that, personally, having everyone else's thoughts invading my head constantly, I would certainly be like that.

--

Umm, No POV, which may be a first

Fang, Gazzy, Nudge and Angel reached Nagoya without any excess trouble and landed discretely in an alley. Each quickly folded in their wings and tucked them in. It would have been a lot easier to search from the air, but it was the middle of the day and they could not risk getting seen.

They wandered the city for quite a while before realizing that they were making no progress whatsoever. They stopped for dinner, grateful it was nearly dark. No one ever looked up at night and if they did, rather than seeing a person with wings as they would in the daytime, they would merely see the silhouette.

None of the kids ate much, all too worried about what was happening where they had left behind a third of their family. Luckily, dark fell quickly and they were very soon up in the air. Nudge had been right, it was a lot easier now that their search was quite narrowed down. Gazzy quickly spotted the correct building.

Fang couldn't help but wonder at their stupidity at putting two headquarters in two consecutively ranked cities, but then he realized that it was likely that they hadn't expected anyone to find the first one and live, so they wouldn't have worried about it.

The group quickly discussed the plan, which wouldn't have taken too long as it was strikingly similar to what they had used before, except this time Fang was the distraction. That was why it took so long. It was a good thing Nudge could out stubborn Fang, especially when assisted by Angel's puppy dog look. He glared at his fiercest, but no one budged. They _needed _everyone else. Nudge they needed to find the cure in the computer system and then crash the whole thing afterwards, Angel they needed for a warning of approaching guards, and Gazzy, of course, was their explosions expert.

Fang sulked into the building, glaring all the way to the guard's desk.

"Can I help you?" the guard asked skeptically, his eyebrows raised.

"I suppose," Fang replied, playing the part of rebellious teen forced to do a school report very well. The others slipped by behind him, unnoticed by the guard who was completely focused on Fang, or more specifically, his hands, ensuring that he did not steal anything. They snuck down the staircase which, ironically enough, was hidden behind the same exact painting it was in the other building.

'_Can they _get_ any stupider?'_ Fang wondered as he noticed that out of the corner of his eye.

Angel spread her thought net, encompassing the basement as far as she could tell it extended. She scanned the thought, looking for anything related even remotely to computers.

"This way," she told them, leading the pair straight ahead. She deftly avoided any other workers, reaching the computer room without problems. She nodded to Gazzy and he smirked and slipped away. Moments later Angel and Nudge heard a very loud explosion. The computer room evacuated quickly, everyone racing to the source of the disturbance. Angel chuckled. "Too easy," she muttered.

The pair quickly entered the computer. Gazzy's distraction could only buy them about five minutes. Angel kept watch over the door as previously discussed, scanning constantly with her thoughts. Nudge sat at the nearest computer and began working her technical magic.

After about four and a half minutes, Angel was getting worried. The workers were starting to lose interest in the explosion site and few were still searching for the cause.

Suddenly Nudge starting banging her head on the table.

"No time for that, Nudge. If you can't find it, don't launch the virus and we'll try again later."

"I did find it. I'll tell you later," Nudge said coming to her senses. She quickly launched her super virus, a virus that would destroy everything on this computer, everything this computer had ever contained, and every bit of information that was the same as what was on this computer. It would down their entire network and any backups as well. It could very well down sites like Google as well, but those would at least be reversible.

The girls quickly fled the room and just in time, too. As they slid around the corner and back to the entry staircase, they heard the workers coming back. They could hear the muffled voices discussing the explosion.

"That was just weird."

"It was probably Research and Development. They've done stuff like that before. Or maybe Emergency Procedure, I can see them doing that as well."

The voices faded into the distance as they ran, Angel keeping close tabs on thoughts close to them and close to her brother as well.

They met back at the staircase, both girls grinning at the smirk on Gazzy's face. He had had fun with that. Angel gestured them up the staircase, the guard had shooed Fang out at the sound of the small explosion and gone to check it out. He wasn't back yet.

They found Fang at their pre-scheduled meeting spot and Nudge prepared to tell her tale.

"I went on the computer and I was searching and searching and using my powers but I still wasn't finding anything then I found this one trail and I followed it and I found a file on Itex which was interesting if not what I was looking for so I backtracked and followed another trail and I found the files from different global headquarters but they didn't have local ones so I backtracked again and I found a file for the local headquarters and I found out the cure was-"

AN: Yes, a mean cliffhanger. I see what people mean when they say they can't help it. I will try to update quicker this time but I have a really busy weekend, what with my birthday party and my friends birthday party and my actual birthday and yeah. Please review!


	14. Chapter 14

Many thanks to Hyper-Dinosuar-Says-RAWR (I love that name!) and liv-twilight-edward-life for reviewing!

Iggy's POV

I hadn't moved since they left, and neither had she. We stayed motionless in that room like a pair of statues, until a nurse came in and insisted I eat something. Max was staying fed by an IV. That machine, that horrible, horrible machine, how I hated that horrible machine. It was an insult to Max and all that she stood for to be dependent on something like that.

I forgot I was holding a glass of water that the nurse had shoved on me and I gripped it too hard. It shattered and cut my hand.

"Dang it!" I muttered, not really angered at the cut, for it would heal in a matter of minutes, but by the blood I had gotten everywhere. I shook my hand subconsciously, trying to rid my hand of the stinging pain. I noticed what I was doing and stopped; I was probably making a bigger mess.

I paused; I was waiting for something, though I didn't know what.

Then it happened. Her breathing returned to normal, becoming louder and showing that she was actually alive.

'She's waking up!' I realized, and I knew it was true.

"Welcome back Max. I missed you."

--

_Previously "I went on the computer and I was searching and searching and using my powers but I still wasn't finding anything then I found this one trail and I followed it and I found a file on Itex which was interesting if not what I was looking for so I backtracked and followed another trail and I found the files from different global headquarters but they didn't have local ones so I backtracked again and I found a file for the local headquarters and I found out the cure was-"_

"Out with it, Nudge," Gazzy yelled, exasperated.

"It's mutant blood," she said flatly. "That's why I was banging my head on the table, Angel. We had the cure all along."

"You're kidding, right," Fang asked incredulously. "Our blood... Will heal her?"

"Yes, it just has to touch any part of her skin and it will seep in instantly and release her from her coma."

Fang whacked himself with his hand in the forehead. Hard.

"So this entire trip... Was unnecessary?" he asked.

"Not really. That depends. If we had never noticed that, then this trip would be the only thing that made us aware of that. If someone had gotten blood on her accidentally, yes, this trip would be unnecessary. But if they hadn't we would have gone on forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever-"

"NUDGE!"

"Sorry," she grinned sheepishly.

"Well, wallowing in it won't help. Let's get back and see if this trip helped anything anyway," Fang said and the flock took off.

--

Iggy's PoV

"Missed you too," she said hoarsely.

I smiled at her, glad to see her awake once more.

"Where are we? Where is everybody?" she scraped out. It sounded like her throat was sandpaper.

"We're at the hospital. They went to look for the cure. Too bad we didn't know we had it all along."

"Oh. What was it?"

"Blood. Presumably, mutant blood, but that's not definite."

She looked disgusted.

"I didn't have to drink it, did I?"

"No! Not at all. It just had to make contact with your skin. Do you want some water?"

"Yeah." I handed the glass from the bedside table to her.

"Max, I've got something I need to say."

"Go ahead Ig. You shouldn't be afraid to talk to me." Her voice sounded a bit better after her drink.

"I'm not, it's just that... Well... This isn't easy to say. You know I've been crushing on you, right?"

"Yeah, you told me right before you were taken."

"Well, after all... this happened, I realized it's a bit more than that. I... I lo-"

The nurse just _had _to choose that moment to walk in and notice Max was awake.

"She's awake! It's a medical miracle!" the nurse called and the room was filled with doctors and nurses trying to figure out what had woken Max and telling me not to move or talk or interrupt. I could have told them in seconds, but they wouldn't let me and the cut on my hand was already invisible.

The rest of my sentence was left unfinished.

--

No PoV

It was still dark so they made quick progress, tucking their wings in on the hospital roof in short time.

The mini-flock rushed down the stairs as one and sprinted to the room where Max was. We were stopped in the hallway. The room was full of nurses and doctors.

"What's going on?" Fang asked a passing nurse.

"I'm sorry son. This room is off limits to all visitors right now."

"What?! Why?"

"A medical oddity has just occur. The doctors want to be sure they've analyzed every possible cause before any outside force tampers with it. The room is cut off. Nothing and no one besides the doctors gets in, and no one and nothing gets out."

"But that's my best friend in there!" Fang protested at the same time the rest of the flock cried,

"That's our sister in there!"

"I'm sorry, not even relations are allowed in. Besides, our records say the only family is a mother and a sister, and they're not authorized to visit even during normal hours."

"By blood, yes. By anything else, we're her family."

"That may be, but family or not, you'll just have to wait." The nurse rushed into the room and the flock was shoved to the side, but not before they caught a glimpse of Iggy inside, looking a bit overwhelmed by what was going on around him.

"We're going in right?" Gazzy asked flatly.

"Of course," Fang replied.

**Note: The beginning of this chapter has been revised due to a comment pointed out to me by an anonymous reviewer. I tend to forget sometimes that Iggy is blind. -Grins sheepishly-**


	15. Chapter 15

Max PoV

I was mulling over what Iggy had said just before the nurse came in.

"_I'm not, it's just that... Well... This isn't easy to say. You know I've been crushing on you, right?"_

"_Yeah, you told me right before you were taken."_

"_Well, after all... this happened, I realized it's a bit more than that. I... I lo-"_

I wasn't sure, but it had sounded quite a bit like he had been about to say... But, no, that couldn't be right. There was no way Iggy had been about to say he loved me. I mean, sure, he had a crush on me, but we had been through a lot together. Yeah, I loved him too, but did I love him like that? Yes, I realized. I did.

'_Awww, crap. I fell for him.'_ I thought. I had tried so hard not to fall for anyone in the flock, but here I had gone and done it. It would cause a rift, I knew that. I didn't know if the flock could stay together through something like this. I knew Fang had been crushing on me for ages.

He thought he loved me, but I wasn't as sure. Iggy, if that had been what he had been about to say, I knew it was real. He knew himself in ways that only a person who cannot see can. Fang was a bit more unsure of himself. Nobody saw it of course, everyone else just saw the facade he put up.

It hurt me that I couldn't have as much faith in Fang as he obviously had in me.

Iggy's PoV

That nurse couldn't have had worse timing!

I was currently surrounded by various nurses and doctors rushing around me. They were telling me not to say anything, but I don't think I could have finished my sentence anyway. Not around this many people.

I tried to tell them that I knew what the cure was several times, but I couldn't even get the beginning of a word out before I was shushed. Finally Max got fed up and used her Max voice.

"EVERYBODY FREEZE!" Everybody froze.(Oh, the power of the Max voice!)

"If you would all just shut up and listen, I'm pretty sure Iggy knows what happened, seeing as he was **here.**" All of those college-degree, fancy title doctors were stunned into silence. I could tell Max and I were on the same wavelength with the next though.

'_Idiots.'_

As one, the hoity-toity, high and mighty doctors turned towards me. I wish I could've seen it.

"If you had asked, I could've told you without all the fuss. The cure was my blood. And, before you ask, no you cannot have a sample to test."

There arose a chorus of "What?"s and "Why not?"s.

"There are secrets hidden there that I'd like to remain secrets."

The crowd grumbled as it dissipated.

Suddenly a vent from the ceiling popped off and out came Fang, Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel.

"Guys?" Max asked. "Why did you just come out of the ceiling? The door is open."

"MAX!" They screamed, well, Angel Gazzy and Nudge screamed. Fang doesn't scream.

"You're back. What happened?" Fang asked her. I answered.

"I cut my hand on a glass. Apparently the cure is-" They joined me for the rest of my sentence.

"Our blood."

"You figured it out then?"

"Yup. We also very thoroughly crashed their system," Nudge grinned proudly.

Max smiled thinly back.

"You okay?" Fang and I asked quietly at the same time.

Angel groaned slightly.

I looked at him and he looked back. With our eyes, we both agreed.

'_Later.'_

"I'm fine. Just peachy. Right as rain."

"Max, saying it three different ways isn't going to make us believe it," I told her.

"Really, I am. Just a little tired."

"You just slept for days!" Nudge pointed out.

She rolled her eyes, but, soon enough, she was out like a light.

"Fang," I said. "Can I talk to you in the hallway?"

He followed me out. We walked to a deserted alcove.

I looked at him none too awkwardly. Neither of us said anything. We didn't know what to say. In the end, we didn't say anything. We stared, looking at each other, neither backing down. It's really odd, to have a staring contest when you can't even see your opponent, trust me.

We stood there like that for over 30 minutes, not even blinking. For some odd reason, we don't have to. Birds do, people do, but bird-people don't. I don't know how that happened. I think Nudge is rubbing off a bit.

After about 42 minutes of staring, finally, Fang lowered his eyes, stepping back so I could hear it. I crowed triumphantly inside, but outside I offered a sad smile. I was glad that I had won, but I didn't like it that my best friend had to lose.

We walked back in together, side by side to find Max awake. She smiled at us, as if she could tell we had resolved something. A nurse had come in and declared Max could have free run of the hospital, but they wanted to keep her one more night for observation. One more night, and this nightmare would be over.

We walked together down to the cafeteria, laughing and joking the whole way. We fell upon the food like a pack of ravenous wolves, none of us having eaten since Max had been admitted and Angel had seen what was wrong.

The cafeteria staff stared in awe as we devoured almost the entire buffet bar. It was rather funny.

As we walked back to Max's room, I lingered behind and she joined me.

"Hey."

"Hey."

We walked in silence for a moment as I worked up my courage once more.

"I.. What I tried to say before, Max, was that... Well, I love you Max."

She smiled at me.

"I thought that was what you were going to say. I thought about it, and, well, I love you too." I grinned so wide I think my face split in two.

"Is that what you and Fang settled?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I'd hate it if this split you apart."

"What about you two? Are you two going to still be cool after everything settles down?"

"I think so, Ig. I think so."

Thanks so much to Trin S. for reviewing every chapter!! You rock so much!! Thanks especially for the constructive criticism and for pointing out my major error last chapter!

Many thanks also to liv-twilight-edward-life for faithfully reviewing!

Wow! Two chapters in one day! Thanks to Trin S. again for encouraging me.


	16. Epilogue: Family Forever

Many thanks to Trin S. and liv-twilight-edward-life and anyone else who ever reviewed this story!

20 Years Later

No PoV

She smiled at her husband next to her as she ran, edging ahead of him.

"I'm going to beat you!!" she gloated.

"Not even in your wildest dreams!" he told her, pouring on the last reserves of his strength. He ran by feel, pushing, using the ground and its miniscule dips and ridges to push himself ahead of her.

The edge of the cliff loomed in front of them, but neither slowed. She dove off the edge at almost the exact moment he did, but he plummeted faster because he weighed more.

"That's not fair!" she yelled to him as he began to gain a major edge on her.

He approached the treetops, and just as he did, he flipped out his winds, sliding them smoothly through the slits in his shirt.

She fell lower, finding a clearing and pumping her wing-tips so close to the ground the brushed the grass. She wove in and out of the sparse forest, edging up to him even with her indirect path. She approached from underneath, trying to sneak up on him.

He heard the whisper of her wings beneath him and smiled. He listened carefully, hearing it approach, closer, closer until she was directly beneath him. He tucked in his wings and dropped, making sure he had enough forward momentum to land directly on top of her.

"Oof."

He grinned. She couldn't help but chuckle.

"You won't ever grow up, will you?"

"Nope!"

"You're going to make us late."

"We've got ten minutes!"

"And 25 miles!"

"We go 200 miles per hour!" She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Come on, smart mouth," she joked.

He rolled his eyes at her, but he got off her anyway. They took off in perfect tandem, mimicking each other in their actions exactly. They flew so close their wing-tips touched.

The roof peeked up above the tree line in front of them within moment. The silence of the cool early morning was hardly disturbed as they passed. The roof peeked up above the tree line in front of them within moments. She smiled as the memories created in the house were brought up.

She distinctly remembered the day they had bought this forest with the government compensation for their suffering. Their story, when the whole truth had gone public, had generated a lot of pity and the new president had become quickly popular when he had given them the compensation.

"_This is it," Fang had said._

"_It's perfect," Max put in._

"_Wow," had been Iggy's comment._

"_It's _us_," Angel said._

"_I love it," Gazzy said._

"_It's absolutely positively special. It's just right for us with lots of room and a cliff to jump off and lots of land to run and trees and so much it's just _right_," Nudge had breathed._

They had put the house up themselves.

"_No Gaz, that goes there, not there," Angel directed._

"_But this is a side wall. The label says so."_

"_Yes, but it's that side wall, not that one."_

"_How do you know?"_

"_Gaz."_

"_Fine. I'm going."_

A year later, Max and Iggy had gotten married and built a small cottage of their own, still on the same large plot of land, but separate, secluded, perfect.

"_You guys will visit lots, right? We should have like a family dinner every week just to make sure we're still keeping up. Family forever, right guys?"_

_Family forever, they had all agreed._

Family forever had become their motto in past years, especially through the trials when the press had found their secluded plot.

"_How does it feel to know you've saved the world?"_

"_If the world was in danger, would you save it again?"_

"_Why do you choose to seclude yourself like this?"_

"_Do you think the compensation was enough? The world wants to know!"_

_Max had screeched, "It's none of the world's business!" and slammed the door in their face._

Nudge had found the man of her dreams and moved out as well after they had part way integrated into regular society.

"_You sure about this, Nudge?" Max had asked. Nudge, for once, was brief._

"_I'm sure."_

_Toby entered with Fang, who had picked him up on his way through town._

"_Toby, I have something to tell you. There's a reason my family and I live so far away from everybody else." She slid out her wings._

_He stared, and Nudge started to feel doubtful. _'What if he doesn't like me anymore? What if I said it wrong and ruined everything? Oh, gosh, please don't let me have ruined everything."

"_That's, amazing Nudge. Do they work? Can you really fly? Could you take me with you? What's it like to fly? Is it the most amazing thing ever? I bet it is. Why do you have wings? Is there a reason for that? Were you born with them?"_

Toby hated the news with a passion (that burned with the power of a thousand suns) and so he hadn't heard our story. He was Nudge's perfect match. He could babble to match her, but he also balanced her out a bit because he was also very good at just thinking. She had taken him flying as soon as she could. It hadn't been the same as flying solo, but Toby had been thrilled.

Toby proposed ten months later.

_He had taken her to _Suzie K's_, the highest class restaurant within a thousand miles, though it was only thirty miles away. As soon as they had finished eating, a spotlight came on over their table. The whole restaurant turned to see what was going on. Nudge looked up at the light. As she did, Toby knelt. She turned back to him and saw the box in his hand. She went silent._

"_Nudge Monique Ride, you are the love of my life. You bring out the best in me and keep me from sinking. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"_

_She was breathless. She could only get out one word._

"_Yes," she whispered. The observers broke out in applause._

It had been almost the polar opposite of Iggy's proposal.

_They were on a beach, secluded, alone. Iggy had initiated some signal Max couldn't see, and soft music began to play. He knelt as the unmistakable beginning of the song they had unofficially dubbed as _'their song'_ rang out._

"_Max, I love you with all that I am. I have for a while, and I always will. Will you marry me?"_

"_Of course I will," she said bluntly, just so _Max.

The rings had been opposites as well, Max thought fondly as she looked at the simple ring on her finger. It was silver, for Iggy knew that she hated gold. It was inlaid with a small, simple, yet exquisitely beautiful diamond. Nudge's was solid gold, inlaid with a large diamond in the middle and surrounded by smaller rubies. Each matched the girl it had been chosen for perfectly.

Fang, Gazzy, and Angel were all still trying to find that perfect match, so they had the original house to themselves.

They landed in the yard of said original house in tandem and tucked in their wings. Nudge was just showing up from the opposite direction with Toby in tow, as they had agreed when they bought the place that the driveway was only for people who didn't know. They wanted to keep the atmosphere of the place perfect, rather than taint it.

The two couples entered the house together, greeting Fang and Gazzy at the door. Angel was struggling at the stove. Iggy went to assist.

Before long, the meal was finished and the table was set with enough food to feed an army, or at least that was what it looked like. By the time we were done with it, there would hardly be any leftovers.

It still freaked Toby out a bit that his wife ate three times as much as he did.

The meal passed by peacefully, filled with inane chatter.

Family Forever

"A conclusion is simply the place where someone got tired of thinking."

AN: I would love reviews!! Many many thanks to those who have reviewed!!


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